One place that we felt we had missed during our long adventure in 2022/23 was Shetland, the northernmost part of the British Isles. We spent some time in The Orkneys, just of the north coast of Scotland, but didn’t venture further to Shetland. This was our chance to fill that gap. Of course, we were in The Orkneys in summer, […]
Category: European Travel
Meandering Around Mediaeval York
After our snowy visit to Schliersee in Bavaria, we took the train north to York. But not before an important celebration in London before we left. Click on the photo to read about our visit to York, where we experienced its long heritage through Roman, Viking, and Christian eras. York, England January 2026 If you want to follow our travels […]
A Week in the Bavarian Snow
After the stay in London over Christmas and New Year Jan and Chris took to the air to fly to Munich. They met their friends before travelling with them on the train to Schliersee in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps. Click on the photo at right to read the story of their week there. Bavaria, Germany January 2026 If […]
On the road again….
We hadn’t planned to travel again until mid-2026, but we received some happy news from London; Natalie and Dom were expecting a baby before Christmas, so this prompted some quick planning to visit. We will do some other things while we are here, and the interactive map below shows where we plan to be during December and January. The blue […]
Trying to Stay Dry in County Donegal
The journey from Derry to the northern end of County Donegal coincided with the weather turning seriously wet and miserable. Enough to confine us to quarters for a day and get us soaked another. We still got out and about, and added another chapter amazing to our knowledge of the British occupation of this island, and events in The Troubles […]
Cork and Ireland’s Beautiful South West
Our travels through Ireland continued southward from Waterford. Our next destination was Cork and the nearby Derry Peninsular, a spectacular section of the Irish coastline. Again, we had somewhere to visit on the way down. Once again Natalie and Dom took some time off work to make it a long weekend and join us in Cork. We covered a lot […]
The Viking City of Waterford
After picking up a car in Dublin, our circumnavigation of Ireland began with us travelling south to the lovely little city of Waterford. About four hours from Dublin, it is the oldest city in Ireland, originally settled by the Vikings. Waterford’s main claim to fame today is its famous Waterford Crystal, and we discovered that there was a bit to […]
Budapest, One of the World’s Great Cities
The final stop on our second time in the Schengen Zone was Budapest, the capital of Hungary, and one of the world’s truly great cities. With its rich history, classical and modern cultural elements, amazing architecture, and the Danube River flowing through it, Budapest proved to be another highlight of our trip so far. We were joined again by Natalie […]
A Hungarian Tourist Mecca, and Jan’s Family History
Lake Balaton, in the west of Hungary, is one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations. Within an hour’s drive of Budapest, the lake attracts day-trippers and people after a short break. They come for the scenery, the water sports, the cycling, and to swim in the thermal baths at Heviz. We had another reason to come as well. Jan’s […]
A Rainy Interlude in Zagreb
After experiencing the sights in Ljubljana while dodging the showers, our luck with the weather didn’t change when we got to Zagreb. But again, that didn’t stop us from getting out and about Croatia’s capital. With three nights, and two full days to explore, there were enough breaks in the rain to see all that the city offers. It seems […]
What a Beautiful Country Slovenia Is
Slovenia is a small country that has borders with Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. Its location has meant it has been ruled by different empires over the centuries, each leaving its impressions. Above all, visitors to Slovenia are treated to some of the most spectacular scenery imaginable. In the north-west of the country, the Triglav National Park in the Julian […]
Catching Up With Family on the Croatian Riviera
The final stop on our northward journey through Croatia was Opatija, the gateway to Croatia’s Istrian Peninsula. As well as being a resort city on Croatia’s answer to the French Riviera, it is also home to some of Jan’s relatives. She last saw them in the early 1980s, so it was a nice reunion all these years later. Of course, […]
A Few Days Living In a Roman Emperor’s Palace
Our journey continued from Puglia, taking another overnight ferry across the Adriatic to the Croatian port city of Split. Most of the old city of Split is enclosed behind the walls of the palace of the Roman Emperor, Diocletian. Our apartment was inside the walls, so we spent a few days living in the remains of his palace. We really […]
A Ten Day Break in The Heel of Italy’s Boot
There has been a little delay in getting this post out, due to some glitches in the site’s email system. Chris quickly found himself out of his depth when he tried to fix it, but it is handy having a network engineer in the family (thanks Dom!). We seem to have resumed normal transmission, and are pleased we can share […]
Three Weeks in the Stunning Peloponnese
We have just spent three weeks travelling through Greece’s Peloponnese Peninsula. What an amazing experience! We have encountered so much history and legends, and did some great walks through spectacular scenery. The region is much more mountainous than we expected, and car journeys between places never went by a direct route anywhere. We tried to fit everything into one big […]
Sun, Snow and Some Good Walking
As we travel south through Greece, and Spring approaches, we are seeing some warmer weather. This means our walking, mostly dormant for the last few months, can start again in earnest. Staying in Volos, we have great access to some of the best walking in Greece on the Pelion Peninsula. Volos is a lovely port city halfway between Thessaloniki and […]
Reaching for the Sky in Meteora
The monasteries at Meteora in central Greece are a UNESCO World Heritage Site that really has to be seen to be believed. Perched high atop giant sandstone pillars, or clinging impossibly to the side of a cliff, these monuments are incredible. The monks and nuns who have studied there over centuries really were trying to get closer to God. We […]
Olympus, Home of the Gods
After our spot of rest and relaxation in Thessaloniki, it was back on the road to continue our journey through Greece. Our destination was Mount Olympus National Park, home of the ancient Greek gods and some of the best hiking trails in the country. There was too much snow about to really cover the best trails in the park, but […]
A Ten-Day Break in Thessaloniki
This post marks the end of our three months in Egypt, Jordan, Turkey and Eastern Europe, and back to commence our second 90-day block inside the Schengen Zone. There was a slight hiccup at the Greek border, when we thought for a moment that we were going to be denied entry, but it was resolved, and we made it to […]
A Quick Trip Through Northern Bulgaria
Our 90 days outside the Schengen Zone was drawing to an end, meaning we could enter Greece for the next part of our adventure. But we still had three days to fill in. Getting from the Romanian capital down to Greece’s second-biggest city, through Bulgaria, seemed to be easy enough. But there were some hurdles we hadn’t anticipated. We finished […]